Real life cyborgs

There are few things which excite me more than hearing the opening to the score of Terminator 2: the sounds take me to a place somewhere in my childhood where the concept of a humanoid machine with a Austrian accent was at once terrifying and tantalising. Incredibly the robotic technology exhibited in that film is being used today to help those who really need it.

Canadian film maker Rob Spence damaged his eye during his childhood and was given a prosthetic replacement soon after. Like most prosthesis, it was purely aesthetic. It wasn’t until Rob realised that he could combine his prosthetic with his profession, that he became the ‘eyeborg’.

As we saw during the summer paralympic games, prosthesis made paralympians run, jump and throw nearly as far as able bodied athletes. Such are the developments in prosthetic technology, it is thought that able bodied athletes achievements may soon be eclipsed by those using enhanced robotic prosthesis, like Nigel Ackland’s robotic arm.

Then there’s the incredible story of Miika Terho: after succumbing to a hereditary eye condition, Miika lost his vision at the age of 35. A ground breaking operation left Mikka implanted with a light-sensitive microchip, a substitute for a retina, which was then linked up to his optic nerve.

Spence was commissioned by Eidos Interactive, the developers of computer game Deus Ex, to investigate how close we are to the super-human capabilities of the game’s protagonist, Adam Jensen. The video shows how close we are to the bio mechanics of tomorrow, today.Warning: The following video contains images of eye surgery which viewers may find disturbing.

Prosthetic eyes combined with augmented reality; bionic hands capable of extensive motion; legs which could make you run faster…Amazing Stuff!